The Microjet 200 lightweight jet trainer was unusual because its design was initiated in the late 1970s by the French company Microturbo SA to find a new market for its products, which includes the design and manufacture of small gas turbines. The all-wood prototype (F-WZJF) first flew on 24 June 1980, followed by the first of three improved pre-production Microjet 200Bs (F-WDMT) on 19 May 1983, by which time the project was in the hands of the specially-formed marketing subsidiary Microjet SA. A fourth airframe underwent static testing at the CEAT Toulouse. A cantilever low-wing monoplane of mixed construction, fitted with a V-tail, retractable tricycle landing gear, and powered by two Microturbo TRS-18 turbojets, the MJ200 provided enclosed but unpressurised two-seat side-by-side accommodation for an instructor and pupil, and was intended as a low-cost high-performance turbine-powered aircraft suitable for military pilot training. Two more pre-production examples flew in January 1985 and November 1986 (offset by the loss of F-WDMT in March 1985) and these featured improvements such as a longer fuselage, additional V-tail sweep, reprofiled canopy, uprated TRS-18 engines and, on the last aircraft, weapon hardpoints under the wing. Initially MJ200 components were fabricated by Marmande Aeronautique and assembled by Microturbo, but the last two aircraft were built entirely by Marmande. Although the Microjet 200B attracted a lot of attention by its diminutive size and spritely performance, no hard commercial interest developed and the aircraft were put into store in the late 1980s.